Birmingham Iron sets roster loaded with former Alabama, Auburn players
Former Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson is one of 10 former Alabama players on the 52-member Birmingham Iron team in the new Alliance of American Football league. (contributed)
On the final day of its first-ever, league-wide training camp in San Antonio, Texas, the Birmingham Iron professional football team of The Alliance of American Football set its final 52-player roster for the inaugural season. More than a third — 19 players — have strong Alabama connections.
“It is a tough day on everyone — players and coaches,” said Iron Head Coach Tim Lewis. “It is also an exciting day. It is a necessary part of the process in forging a team. We are looking forward to working with the 52 players that we have chosen, and we are ready to begin our journey toward winning a championship.”
The roster has 18 members who played college football in the state, including 10 former Alabama Crimson Tide players and five former Auburn players.
Tide veterans on the squad are Xzavier Dickson, Josh Frazier, Brandon Greene, J.C. Hassenauer, Dominick Jackson, Korren Kirven, Cole Mazza, Trent Richardson, Blake Sims and Bradley Sylve.
Former Auburn players are Quan Bray, Chris Davis, Trovon Reed, Ryan White and Avery Young. Davis became part of Auburn legend with his “Kick Six” runback that ended the 2013 Iron Bowl.
In addition to UA and AU, three Alabama schools have individual former players on the Iron roster: South Alabama’s Braedon Bowman, Tuskegee‘s DeVozea Felton and Troy‘s Jonathan Massaquoi. Also making the cut was Beniquez Brown, a native of Florence who played college ball at Mississippi State.
The remainder of the roster includes several former SEC players and a mix of members from as far away as Croydon, England.
The team will host a luncheon on Monday, Feb. 4, at The Club in Birmingham, allowing fans to meet the players ahead of the inaugural season. Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit the Baptist Health Foundation.
Guests will receive a ticket to the opening game and be eligible to win exclusive Iron experiences and gear.
The Iron opens its 2019 season Sunday, Feb. 10, vs. Memphis Express at Legion Field. The first snap is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Doors open for Monday’s luncheon at 11 a.m., and the meal begins at noon. Tickets are $125 for individuals or $925 for a table of eight. The Club is at 1 Robert S. Smith Drive atop Red Mountain.
An Iron player or coach will be seated at each table.
For more information on the luncheon, contact Michaela Bromelow at 205-847-2783 or email michaela.bromelow@aaf.com.
The Alliance of American Football is a new professional football league founded by TV and film producer Charlie Ebersol and Hall of Famer Bill Polian. The Alliance will feature eight teams with 52-player rosters playing a 10-week regular season schedule in the spring, beginning Feb. 9 on CBS, followed by two playoff rounds and the championship game on April 27.
For more information, visit https://aaf.com/.
The Birmingham Iron is led by an experienced professional coaching, playing and front office staff featuring Coach Tim Lewis, team President Tom Ward and General Manager Joe Pendry. Fans can buy season tickets for as low as $75 at www.birminghamiron.com or by calling 205-847-1616, and can follow The Iron on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Scheduled games are:
- Feb. 10 vs. Memphis Express, Legion Field, 1 p.m.
- Feb. 16 vs. Salt Lake Stallions, Legion Field, 2 p.m.
- Feb. 24 vs. Atlanta Legends, Georgia State Stadium, Atlanta, 3 p.m. CT
- March 3 vs. San Antonio Commanders, Legion Field, 3 p.m.
- March 9 vs. Orlando Apollos, Legion Field, 1 p.m.
- March 17 vs. San Diego Fleet, SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, 7 p.m. CT
- March 24 vs. Memphis Express, Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, 7 p.m.
- March 31 vs. Atlanta Legends, Legion Field, 3 p.m.
- April 7 vs. Arizona Hotshots, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona, 7 p.m. CT
- April 14 vs. Orlando Apollos, Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, time TBA.
The Birmingham Iron’s complete final roster is below.
| NO. | NAME | POS. | Ht. | WT. | COLLEGE | HOMETOWN |
| 58 | Adeoye, Aaron | LB | 6-6 | 260 | Southeast Missouri State | Marion, Ill. |
| 89 | Anderson, Busta | TE | 6-5 | 236 | South Carolina | Powder Springs, Ga. |
| 80 | Bowman, Braedon | TE | 6-4 | 236.5 | South Alabama | Mesa, Ariz. |
| 81 | Bray, Quan | WR | 5-10 | 185 | Auburn | LaGrange, Ga. |
| 42 | Brown, Beniquez | LB | 6-1 | 238 | Mississippi State | Florence, Ala. |
| 35 | Campbell, Elijah | DB | 5-11 | 195 | Northern Iowa | St. Paul, Minn. |
| 21 | Davis, Chris | DB | 5-11 | 204 | Auburn | Birmingham, Ala. |
| 88 | Davis, Connor | TE | 6-8 | 265 | Stony Brook | Bel Air, Md. |
| 51 | Dickson, Xzavier | LB | 6-4 | 238 | Alabama | Griffin, Ga. |
| 67 | Dunn, Michael | T | 6-5 | 320 | Maryland | Bethesda, Md. |
| 14 | Etta-Tawo, Amba | WR | 6-1 | 194 | Syracuse | Powder Springs, Ga. |
| 63 | Faulk, Jeremy | DL | 6-2 | 286 | Garden City CC | Hastings, Fla. |
| 13 | Felton, DeVozea | WR | 5-6 | 153.5 | Tuskegee | Buford, Ga. |
| 71 | Frazier, Josh | DT | 6-3 | 308 | Alabama | Springdale, Ark. |
| 62 | Graham, Larson | T | 6-5 | 304 | Duquesne | Wyoming, Ohio |
| 60 | Greene, Brandon | T | 6-5 | 290 | Alabama | Ellenwood, Ga. |
| 27 | Hagen, Jacob | DB | 6-3 | 206 | Liberty | Orange Park, Fla. |
| 70 | Hassenauer, J.C | C | 6-3 | 305.8 | Alabama | Woodbury, Minn. |
| 94 | Hatley, Rickey | DT | 6-4 | 300 | Missouri | Atlanta, Texas |
| 32 | Isaac, Ty | RB | 6-3 | 235 | Michigan | Shorewood, Ill. |
| 77 | Jackson, Dominick | T | 6-5 | 320 | Alabama | San Mateo, Calif. |
| 93 | James, Nick | DT | 6-4 | 315 | Mississippi State | Long Beach, Miss. |
| 78 | Kirven, Korren | T | 6-5 | 334 | Alabama | Lynchburg, Va. |
| 57 | Massaquoi, Jonathan | LB | 6-3 | 246 | Troy | Lawrenceville, Ga. |
| Maxey, Johnny | DT | 6-5 | 305 | Mars Hill | Columbia, S.C. | |
| 48 | Mazza, Cole | LS | 6-1 | 225 | Alabama | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| 9 | Novak, Nick | K | 5-11 | 203 | Maryland | Charlottesville, Va. |
| 79 | O’Brien, Kitt | G | 6-5 | 312 | Ball State | Walton, Ind. |
| 97 | Okoye, Lawrence | DT | 6-6 | 311 | NO COLLEGE | Croydon, England |
| 16 | Palmer, Tobais | WR | 5-10 | 200 | North Carolina State | Pittsboro, N.C. |
| 18 | Patton, Quinton | WR | 6-0 | 185 | Louisiana Tech | La Vergne, Tenn. |
| 12 | Perez, Luis | QB | 6-3 | 223 | Texas A&M-Commerce | Chula Vista, Calif. |
| 41 | Perkins, Ladarius | RB | 5-8 | 209 | Mississippi State | Greenville, Miss. |
| 8 | Price, Keith | QB | 6-1 | 202 | Washington | Compton, Calif. |
| 20 | Redfield, Max | DB | 6-1 | 192 | Indiana (PA) | Mission Viejo, Calif. |
| 23 | Reed, Trovon | DB | 6-0 | 202 | Auburn | Thibodaux, La. |
| 33 | Richardson, Trent | RB | 5-10 | 230 | Alabama | Pensacola, Fla. |
| 45 | Ross, Brandon | RB | 5-11 | 205.5 | Maryland | Newark, Del. |
| 56 | Salmon, Shaheed | LB | 6-2 | 228 | Samford | Tampa, Fla. |
| 90 | Sayles, Casey | DT | 6-4 | 306 | Ohio | Omaha, Neb. |
| 2 | Schmidt, Colton | P | 5-11 | 219 | Cal-Davis | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| 6 | Sims, Blake | QB | 5-11 | 219.5 | Alabama | Gainesville, Ga. |
| 52 | Spearman, Ike | LB | 6-0 | 229 | Eastern Michigan | Saint John, Ind. |
| 26 | Summers, Jamar | DB | 5-11 | 191 | Connecticut | Orange, N.J. |
| 29 | Sylve, Bradley | DB | 5-11 | 178 | Alabama | Port Sulphur, La. |
| 53 | Taylor, Devin | LB | 6-8 | 268 | South Carolina | Beaufort, S.C |
| 34 | Tocho, Jack | DB | 6-1 | 195 | North Carolina State | Charlotte, N.C. |
| Wadood, Jaleel | DB | 5-9 | 180 | UCLA | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| 85 | Washington, L’Damian | WR | 6-4 | 194.5 | Missouri | Shreveport, La. |
| 54 | Wells, Matthew | LB | 6-2 | 223 | Mississippi State | Monticello, Miss. |
| 31 | White, Ryan | DB | 5-11 | 201 | Auburn | Tallahassee, Fla. |
| 73 | Young, Avery | G | 6-6 | 308 | Auburn | Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. |
